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WTB 240-255 gyoto wa handle

So it's my 50th come June 13 and my lovely wife has approved a birthday/fathers day gyoto. I was hoping to get Marko's 255 he brought to the ECG, but family came in town so I could not make it, and the price with the saya became too much

I was originally looking for something in stainless, even thought Marko's was not I love his handle design, and am on Mario's wait list, and that is still a slight preference but would be interested in carbon too. I am partial to the Shigefusa profile but of course am open to offers from other makers. I have found a new 240 Shigefusa for 400 without a saya for a back up but thought it would be interesting to see it some knife hoarder, I mean collector, had a knife they were ready to part with.

My price range goes up to about 450 or so for the right knife.

I do have a few old Sabatier's I bought from Lee Valley Tools about 15 years ago that were new at that time even thought they were made between 1920 and 1950 if someone was interested. Here is a link to an article about them: http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories...t_223484.shtml

It is a screaming deal because of the beautiful handle. The only problem is I am not a fan of the kurouchi finish, it just seem like the knife maker was to busy/ lazy to finish the polishing. I actually think the yin/yang of the rustic blade and the tuxedo handle is pretty interesting. The profile is great too. Is it easy to change the finish into a kasumi finish? Of course that would destroy the yin/yang I just said was interesting

Some ku knives are very quickly and cheaply made, but that is NOT the case with takeda.

takedas are THIN and have an awesome taper both from heel to tip and spine to edge.... And its even. The fact that the maker can shape a knife better with just a hamer than most can with a grinder is pretty damn impressive if you have any clue about metal work.
So in some ways leaving the raw finiah is like showing off that no post-processing was needed - kinda like how the old masters of photography and composition would print the edges of the negative just to show that they comppsed the image perfectly and didbt need to crop it.

The ku finish is also very smooth, well adhered, and almost nonreactive. It reduces stiction too.

Removing the ku on a takeda or calling it lazy is like ordering a dry aged 20oz strip cooked Pittsburgh blue and then sending back to the kitchen requesting that the chef cut off the burnt bits and take the propper time to cook it to med-well.

If ku is just not your thing, then go buy something shiney (lots out there, shun makes some very sparkly stuff in your price range and theres also an AWESOME catchside on bst thats a bit over ), but please dont ruin a takeda.

Some ku knives are very quickly and cheaply made, but that is NOT the case with takeda.

takedas are THIN and have an awesome taper both from heel to tip and spine to edge.... And its even. The fact that the maker can shape a knife better with just a hamer than most can with a grinder is pretty damn impressive if you have any clue about metal work.
So in some ways leaving the raw finiah is like showing off that no post-processing was needed - kinda like how the old masters of photography and composition would print the edges of the negative just to show that they comppsed the image perfectly and didbt need to crop it.

The ku finish is also very smooth, well adhered, and almost nonreactive. It reduces stiction too.

Removing the ku on a takeda or calling it lazy is like ordering a dry aged 20oz strip cooked Pittsburgh blue and then sending back to the kitchen requesting that the chef cut off the burnt bits and take the propper time to cook it to med-well.

If ku is just not your thing, then go buy something shiney (lots out there, shun makes some very sparkly stuff in your price range and theres also an AWESOME catchside on bst thats a bit over ), but please dont ruin a takeda.

Justin,

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, and yes I mean it. I am new to the whole J-knives scene and am learning evey time I visit this forum. My comment about the ku finish was poorly worded. I was trying to convey the idea that it looks a bit unfinished because they did not grind it out. I can see my wife's expression if I spent over 300 on a knife with a ku finish. Of course all I would have to do is show her our conversation about it to get her up to speed too. Your post has me changing my mind on it however, and you are correct that I don't know much about metal work!

And don't worry I will not buy a ku and try and change it. I am actually thinking of buying both the Takeda and the Shig and trying them out for a while and then posting the one I don't keep on BST.